Easter {2013} Picnic

Each year, we gather together as a family for an Easter Picnic.  Growing up, we'd go camping in Sage Valley (on our winter range near Nephi, Utah) and more recently, we head to the winter range in Raft River, Idaho. The winter range is where the cattle winter over, usually warmer than my parent's ranch in Chesterfield, with much less snow. It's also where the cows have their calves, and with the warmer weather, it's better for everyone involved.

Enjoy the picture overload!!!

Ryan helping my dad and brother, Clay, move a fence.
Of course, there's always work to be done before playing!

Clay and Mom undoing the wires to be moved.

Homestead.  Beats camping in the dusty dirt, or a tent that's blown away! 

Deseret had spotted a baby bunny the day before....so
we tried to lure it out with some left over carrots from lunch.
A few of us saw baby bunny BEFORE the carrots were strategically
 placed, but that was the end of our bunny adventures.

Pulling out steel fence posts...

Dirt, dirt, and MORE DIRT!  Nothing more entertaining that DIRT. 

 

Our hard working mom!  Love that wind-blown hair do!

Me and my belly.  Baby girl didn't like the bumpy 4-Wheeler rides,
and I promised my Doctor the day before that I wouldn't take any
bumpy truck or ATV rides that would make her come early....at 38 weeks,
 and normally going 'over', I went ahead a risked it.
 In the middle of NOWHERE.  Shhhhh!  Don't tell! 

Later in the afternoon, we all piled in the trucks to drive over to the baby calves, see the lambs, and just overall check on how the herd was doing.

I love these little black and white faces!

"The babysitter".  :) 

Getting some GOOD dirt for our garden...this tote along with 5 grain
bags full of fertilizer.  :)  Can't wait to plant in a few weeks!

Sunset on the hill, baby and mama lambs.

Loved these darling silhouettes

My mom and Clay thought I wanted them to stop the truck every time I needed/wanted to take a picture...truth is, it was a TAD more bumpy than I had anticipated, and baby girl was having a party on my bladder.  LOL!

We arrived safely back to the bunk house, where Stephanie and Katelyn had met up with us.  After a delicious dinner, we bathed the boys (that was a muddy mess!) and enjoyed each other's company late into the night.

Saturday morning proved to be quite an exciting and fun day!  We had to dye hard boiled eggs...

We did a small amount this year...only 4 dozen.  LOL!  

Hey, mom!  

Tyrel and Katelyn

and then headed outside to play...all day long!

Mid morning, my mom's sister, Camille, her husband Gene and oldest daughter Natasha, met up with us.  They had a VERY special surprise for me!!!

♥♥ Star quilt from Natasha, and Blessing Gown from Aunt Camille ♥♥

I have a special story that goes with this beautiful gift, but it warrants its own post.  :)  So stay tuned for that in the next few days!

After a fun Easter Egg Hunt in the house (and no pictures!) we had a little accident that I and my mom may or may not have over-reacted to.  Camille and Gene were getting ready to leave when Stephanie came into the house, a little teary eyed, and a thumb the size of Texas.  It looked to be dislocated, so my mom and I raced to pack the cars so one of us could drive her to the hospital and get it looked at....turned out that it was just swollen and bruised, from being caught in a chain pulling out one of the remaining fence posts.  We're so glad she was blessed to not have an accident worse than just the bruised joint.  It looked WAY worse!!!

So while dad and Stephanie were off getting her thumb looked at, the boys took advantage of the beautiful day and played some more before it was time for us to leave.

Parachute Guys!!!  (super fun in the wind!)

And bubbles.  :) 

LOTS of BUBBLES!

Somewhere in there, we had a picnic....again, no pictures, but it was DELICIOUS!!!

We always have fun at Grandma and Grandpa's, and are looking forward to returning for even more adventures!!!

Leader in Art

Tanner's elementary school has been incorporating Stephen Covey's "7 Habits of Highly Effective People" into their curriculum.  Throughout the year, they've worked on projects surrounding the seven habits, and have implemented them into assignments, recess, and daily activities.

A "Leadership Day" & assembly was held to honor those who have exhibited these habits and various students were asked to share with an invited audience just how neat the program has been.

Tanner was chosen to share in not one, but TWO areas!  Six students were asked to share a talent.  There were jump ropers, dancers, musicians, and Tanner was our LEADER IN ART.

He stood on stage and said the following:

My name is Tanner Poulsen, and I'm in the first grade.  This is my boot in outer space.  First I traced my boot in pencil, then traced over that in crayon.  Then I used water colors to paint around the crayon.  The crayon made it so the water colors didn't run together.  And then he bowed, about three times.  :)

We are so proud of our budding artist!  Not only does he doodle at school, but is constantly crafting, folding, creating, drawing, and painting at home.  If he's not making something with Legos, he's drawing an ocean scene, or coloring up a storm!

After the talents were shared, there were 20-ish students who were chosen to share their Leadership Binders.  Each student has a Leadership Binder in which they track their attendance, test scores, assignments, and behavior.  Tanner was one of those students!  He chose to show and share his binder with his dad and I.

I've had the opportunity to help in Tanner's classroom with some testing, and it's fun to see the kids chart their progress in reading.  It's also interesting to see how some of the binders are falling apart, papers are shoved in pockets, and sometimes, neither me OR the student can find the right paper for them to mark off their scores. We are so proud of Tanner for keeping such a nice and neat binder.  He's very detail oriented, and likes things to be in order and organized.

We also had to opportunity to 'tour' two classrooms and watch these Seven Habits in action through teaching activities.  It was fun to see Tanner interacting with his classmates and how these habits have been incorporated.

As I reflect on my own childhood and have observed Ryan in the years I've known him, it's evident that Tanner is our child! (not that we didn't think he was!)  He probably spends way too much time organizing his desk, dresser drawers, and bedroom...just like his parents.

Way to go, little man!

Ready for Spring

Wanting to get as much 'housework' done before Baby Girl decides to arrive (less than 4 weeks!), Ryan and I spent a bit of time staking off where we'll plant our garden, IN OUR YARD!  I am so excited to have a space to call my own, and not have to drive out to the church farm (7 miles South), and am excited to be able to wake up at 5 am to weed, or put myself in time-out during bed time.  

Warm enough to shed coats, shoes, and socks....except for Kortlen who
can't decide if he'd rather wear or throw his coat!

Digging for worms...

Pose for mom!  

Just looked through pictures of Ryan's childhood...
...and this boy is a spitting image of his daddy!

Another pose for mom...

Checking to see if China is far off.

This one makes me laugh!  Can't figure out WHAT Taylor
 is doing with his head in the bucket... LOL!

"Hey, Mom!  Take a picture of us!!!"
(It's been a long time since I've had the camera out...obviously.)

I asked them to dig up the grass....
I think they heard "Dig a hole to the center of the Earth."

Ryan said he'd pay them for picking out the rocks...
...so that's what Tanner is doing.  He's very motivated by money.

The Clutch

I'm sort of to the point in being a mom that I don't feel like I need to bring the entire house with me when I actually leave the house.

Remember when you had your first baby and the diaper bag was so full it wouldn't zip closed?  and if the husband dug around for a toy or bottle or snack or burp cloth, it ruined the entire system?  Please tell me I'm not the only one who shot a dirty look or two during church when the delicate balance within the bag was messed up!!!

I found a fun project on pinterest (curse you, insane website!!!) that I thought would be a great way to ease into having a newborn again...

...hence, THE CLUTCH.

I'm actually pretty excited that it turned out so cute!  I followed a pattern almost exactly, and wish I would have taken the time to maybe take my own measurements because I feel like the whole project ended up a bit on the large side (8" x 11" when finished and folded), but because it turned out so darn cute, I'll likely use it anyways.

Baby girl gets her very own baby changing station...wherever we go!

I found the pattern HERE at Made by Marzipan.  She has some great tutorials, and this one was easy to follow.

The two differences between mine and her's:  I used an already laminated fabric (the polka dot that baby is changed on) and instead of sewing right sides together and flipping the entire project to get finished edges, I just used bias tape (like binding a quilt) and REALLY like the look!

I made four of these clutches total, the other 3 for an auction....and didn't have enough bias tape to do the others this way, but would highly recommend it!

Shooting Hoops

The boys were invited to 'shoot hoops' at the church for a few weeks and learn how to play basketball...headed up by our friend and ward member who also has three boys, about the same ages of ours. There was quite the crew of up to sometimes 20 kids!  I took her up on her invite and for the past few weeks we've been learning how to be good sports, shoot the ball, dribble with only one hand, and not be a ball hog (aka: passing!). We had a blast, and it was a great outlet for the boys to learn a new skill.

One of the selling points (albeit a lame-ish one) of our first home, was the already installed (yet broken?) basketball hoop and backboard above the garage.  

I don't think Ryan has been out to shoot hoops (I thought it'd be a GREAT release for him!) once in the last year, and for the first time, I took the boys out last month so they could work on their new skills!

Sunday Dinner

Time with grandparents is so precious!  These three little boys LOVE the attention of their grandparents, and being able to spend time with them on a Sunday Afternoon for Sunday Dinner is usually the highlight of their week!

I had the privilege of knowing and being fairly close to each of my grandparents, and even most of my great-grandparents.

Because Ryan is the 'baby' of his family and is nearly a decade older than me, that makes his parents the same age as my grandparents.  So every moment we get with them is precious.  They have a great posterity, and I'm so grateful that my children have the opportunity to be a part of it!

I know these boys have created many cherished memories with Grandma and Grandpa Poulsen!  Between finding grandma's candy stash (that is moved every time we come!) and wrestling with grandpa and taking his socks and glasses, these boys will undoubtedly have a greater appreciation for Ryan's parents as they all age.

Thank you to grandma and grandpa for having us for Sunday Dinners (at least once a month!) and being such wonderful examples, and such loving grandparents!

Family Fun

I am loving that the boys are at the age to be able to do things pretty independently.

Growing up, I remember DREADING getting my younger siblings ready to go play in the snow....and truthfully, I sometimes DREAD getting my own kids geared up to play long enough to make the 'outing' worth it....

I should have never doubted that no matter HOW long we're outside in the snow playing as a family, it WILL BE FUN!!!

This particular day was only 6 degrees...before getting out of the car at Community Park, I matter-of-fact-ly declared that we would be staying for a minimum of 30 minutes, or we'd NEVER come again!  (must have been one of *those* days)

Over an hour later, and we (yes, I went down the hill a few times, too!!!) had to DRAG the kids off the sledding hill because it was getting dark and I was hungry and probably the coldest.  We had so much fun!

Trying to hit the ice jump at the bottom (not me, of course!), racing, and seeing who could sled the farthest.

Never underestimate three little boys sledding with their daddy on a hill that everybody else gave up on because of the cold weather.  By far, a most successful family outing, making wonderful memories.

The Chairs

Shortly after my parents were married in 1982, my dad purchased two chairs through a local ward meeting house auction.  These chairs were in the Relief Society Room of the historic Kolob 2nd Ward Chapel on Main Street in Springville, Utah.  The chapel I grew up attending, and the chapel where Ryan and I had our wedding reception.  (This same beautiful and historical building was sadly destroyed by arson about 2005.)

For whatever reason, my mom didn't really care for these 'ugly' green chairs from the get-to.  They were old, and worn out.  One sat in my dad's closet where his work clothes were in the basement, and the other sat in an adjacent basement room by the washer and dryer (before the home renovation in the 90's) and we'd sit on it as kids to put our snow clothes on, or drop our swim bag on it after practice.

When we moved to Idaho in 1999, those chairs came too.  For a long while, these two chairs sat in the garage as extra seating when we'd feed the crews during roundup, or a large family event.  More recently, they were moved out to the barn, just waiting for me to bring them home.

In January, my garage became their new temporary home, while I hummmed and haaaaaaaawd about how to re-do them.  My dad had given me the stain color and 4 yards of material that was a remnant of the furniture they had redone in the 90's and then another set redone in the last 2 years for their bunk house on the winter range.  (Even this material has a history and quite the story!)  I knew what the finished product needed to look like, but wasn't sure quite how to execute it.

By the end of January, I decided on a whim (I think I was upset about something and just needed a quite place to myself for a moment! LOL!)  to dig in and start pulling tacks out.  So I sat in the garage, in 40* weather, wearing wool socks and slippers and gloves; and with a screwdriver and hammer, pulled out hundreds of tacks, stripping, and in some places, ripped off the deteriorated material so I could get to the bottom of things.

I spent two weeks, here and there, cleaning up the chairs, getting every.last.tack and thread out of every crack and crevice.  It was definitely therapeutic.  And cold!

After sanding down the beautiful legs, I brought them into my kitchen to acclimate to our warm and dry house, so I could stain and lacquer the legs without freezing my legs off.

Then the real fun began!

Did you know that cutting 2-3" of dense foam takes HOURS if cutting with scissors?  Yet, if you use an electric carving knife, it's like cutting hot butter?  Yeah.  Learned that the hard way.  When I made my rocking chair cushions 9 years ago, I used scissors.  Thank you pinterest for the electric knife short cut!  Didn't even waste any time pulling that wonderful beast out and took less than 5 minutes cutting both backs and seats out!

With my sister Stephanie keeping me company late one night, I stapled (bought an awesome plug-in stapler that saved.my.life and likely the life of my other family members!!!), stretched, poked, prodded, and put in place this really fun fabric.  I was able to MATCH the pattern!  YAY!  (totally accident, but who needs to know, right?!)

I am so excited at how beautiful they turned out!  And my midnight-picture-taking skills don't do them justice....

Thanks for the fun opportunity to re-do some historic furniture pieces, dad!